The next day Mater wasn’t there to open up Willow Brook as always. The staff called his name but he didn’t answer. They had a 9:00 a.m. service so they prepared for it not knowing they were about to find their boss where they least expected him to be.
‘Gee wiz, can’t the grave diggers get it right? They only dug the grave half way down. It’s a good thing Mr. Mater isn’t here to see this. Let’s get this fixed,’ said James to George.
James called the diggers and read them the riot act but they swore up and down they prepared the spot correctly. ‘Never mind,’ replied James. ‘Just fix it now.’
The two men got into the hole but it wasn’t hard. It was soft like they were stepping on something or someone. They got on their knees and started digging with their hands until one of them found an arm. ‘Holy Mary, Mother of God!’ said the one grave diggers as he crossed himself. The second digger kept going until he came across a leg. ‘Jesus Christ, I’m getting the hell out of here.’ Both jumped out of the open grave.
James didn’t understand what they saw and jumped in and began to dig until he uncovered Mater’s face, eyes wide open staring at him. ‘Christ Almighty!,…’ he screamed as he jumped out of the grave.
There were screams from the family present and mother of the dearly departed passed out.
George yelled, ‘Get everyone out of here. Take them back to the church and call the cops.’ The people were ushered away. Miller and Kelby were called to investigate.
‘Shit…the crime scene had too many people trampling on it.’ said Kelby. ‘This is going to be bitch to investigate.’
‘Hey,’ Miller shouted to the CSI tech, ‘Can you take some casts of some of the shoe prints. I know it’s a long shot but we need to get a handle on this,’ said Miller.
The coroner rolled up.
‘Hey Bill, it’s kind of ironic that today of all days the coroner rolls up in a hearse instead of his normal medical van. If it wasn’t tragic, it would be actually be laughable,’ said Miller.
‘So, what do we have here?’ The coroner looked in and tried not laugh although he found it ironic. Mater himself was in the grave, staring blankly with open eyes into space. ‘Someone finally did him in after all the rotten things he did to other people. I wonder how the person did it.’
‘That’s what we hope you are going to tell us,’ said Miller.
‘If I can.’
‘What do you mean, if?’ replied Kelby.
‘Sounds like we have a real joker on our hands. I don’t think he was buried alive but I could be wrong so the murderer dumps the body in an open grave and covers him with dirt. That’s a laugh.’
Ignoring the remark the coroner made that he was enjoying the situation, Miller said, ‘And?’
‘Boys, lift him up and put him on the ground,’ said the coroner.
His staff complied.
‘Well, I don’t see a bullet entry or a knife wound while I do a cursory examination. Roll him on his stomach,’ The staff again complied. ‘No knife or bullet wound to the back, nor can I see any damage to the head from a blow by a blunt object. Someone planned to off him and did a good job. I’m guessing but it was probably a poison of some kind. I’m sure it will be a difficult one for me to locate…Yes, I will check potassium chloride, nightshade, and pufferfish but it probably won’t one of the common ones either like arsenic or cyanide.’
‘Why are you being so negative?’ questioned Kelby.
‘Because this guy has been a thorn in the side of the cemetery industry for years. A real son of a bitch. He’s skirted the law and now someone decided to off him. It wasn’t done as a spur of the moment thing. It was planned and if he was pissed off to do this and leave the body here for shits and giggles, he was probably as methodical in murdering him with an obscure poison.’
‘Why Doc, I never heard you say anything bad…about anyone,’ said Miller.
‘Well, there is a first time for everything…I think catching him is going to be a bitch…Load ‘em up, boys. Come by later and I might have an answer…I said might.’
The coroner drove off and Miller and Kelby looked at each other stunned over what they just heard. They didn’t need to consult Dr. Delmonico. They knew the motive was revenge…pure and simple. They walked into the mortuary office and spoke to James. George was still consoling the family. The grave site was crawling with technicians. The deceased was driven back to the mortuary and put in back in cold storage until such time they could proceed with internment.
‘I want all the funeral files for the last six months,’ said Miller.
‘Are you kidding?’ said James.
‘Do we look like we’re kidding? No…we’re just getting started. Don’t you get it? Your boss was murdered and we have to go through all the files to figure out who might have done it. We especially want to see the ones of people where the deceased’s family had issues with Willow Brook. Go back nine months on those files,’ said Kelby.
‘Shit, that will take me all day and maybe into the evening.’
‘Then I suggest you get started now,’ said Miller.
##
Miller and Kelby got the files the next day and started going through them one by one.
‘Boy, they sure have a lot of people having funerals,’ said Miller.
‘This includes the cremations too,’ replied Kelby.
‘You know, it could have been worse. ‘
‘The killer could have shoved him in one of the ovens. No body…no cause of death.’
‘He probably didn’t know how to work the machine.’
‘It couldn’t be that hard.’
‘Then time was a factor. He wanted to be in and out and not draw attention by using the oven. The oven would create smoke. If he did it at night, someone might have noticed something was amiss.’
‘I’ve been putting possibles in this pile and ones that went smoothly in that pile.’
‘That’s still a hell of a lot of people here. How about 72?’
‘There are more disgruntled people than I thought. How are we going to figure this out?’
‘Pure logic, we need to use the board and write down the highly probable people. Also remember the person who took out the ad and had people come to the meeting.’
‘I wonder if there is any record.’
‘We’ll check but to be honest, he’d have to be a fool to have left a name and I don’t think we are dealing with a fool.’
Miller and Kelby checked out the hotel lead and it was indeed a dead end. The hotel mentioned there was a kid who recorded the meeting so they questioned him. Another dead end. Back to the squad room.
‘You know, Kelby, most of the arrangements are made by men unless the man is being buried, I think we should concentrate there. Someone pissed off a man,’ said Miller.
‘Well, that didn’t narrow it down a whole lot,’ replied Kelby.
Miller and Kelby worked long into the night. They believed it was more likely a recent screw-up than something that happened six months ago. That gave them five possibles to check out the next day when they came in.
One by one they went to the various houses of people grieving a loss. Captain Reno warned them they about to tread on thin ice but they pursued it nevertheless. The Fitzgeralds were the fourth name on the list.
It was lunchtime. Mr. Fitzgerald had come in from the garden to have a bite to eat. That’s where he buried the box with the excess hemlock until he could figure a permanent way to get rid of it.
‘How many more left?’ asked Kelby.
‘One and then we have to pick five more people,’ said Miller.
‘There’s got to be a better way.’
‘Unfortunately, not. Didn’t they tell you in detective school there would be cases like this?’
Kelby glared at Miller as if to say NO!
They got out the identification cards. Their badges were clipped to the belts. Miller rang the doorbell.
They heard a female voice say, ‘Arnold, will you please answer the door?’
Mr. Fitzgerald opened the door and through the screen said, ‘May I help you?’
I’m Detective Miller and this is my partner, Detective Kelby. We’d like to talk to you about your recent experience at Willow Brook Cemetery.’
‘Come in.’
Gizmo, their mutt dog, came running in from the backyard barking and sniffing the detectives.
‘Gizmo down.’ Nothing… ‘Lisa, call off the dog.’
‘He never listens to me. Gizmo is her dog, not mine.’
‘Gizmo, come to mother. ‘The dog ran over to Mrs. Fitzgerald and jumped on the sofa, drooling and wagging its tail.
‘As I was about to say, would you like some coffee? I was making lunch,’ said Mr. Fitzgerald as he walked to the kitchen.
‘No, thank you. We are detectives with the LAPD working on a murder case,’ said Miller.
‘Murder?’
‘Haven’t you heard? It’s been on the news since yesterday. The owner of Willow Brook Cemetery was murdered. His body was found in a shallow grave,’ said Kelby.
‘Oh my,’ said Mrs. Fitzgerald. ‘I didn’t like the man but I wouldn’t have wished that on him.’
‘Someone did. Since you had problems with him at your funeral we needed to talk to you. It seems there were many people who had problems with the funeral home and Mr. Mater as well,’ said Miller.
‘Ours was a minor problem and he fixed it. I was mad at the time because the people who worked there did it as a practical joke,’ replied Mr. Fitzgerald.
‘We read the file. You received a large discount on your service because you threatened to go to the State Funeral Commission,’ said Kelby.
‘He runs…I mean ran his business poorly.’
‘Arnold is businessman with a genius IQ and an MBA,’ said Mrs. Fitzgerald proudly.
Miller and Kelby looked at each other and knew what the other was thinking. This was the guy but how to prove it. That might be the problem.
‘Nice home you have here,’ said Miller.
‘Thank you,’ said Mrs. Fitzgerald.
‘Mind if we look around?’ asked Kelby.
‘Not if you mind if I eat while you do,’ said Mr. Fitzgerald.
Mr. Fitzgerald sat down at table and made himself a sandwich. Miller and Kelby looked around the first floor and while they did, Gizmo jumped from Mrs. Fitzgerald and ran through the doggie door outside into the garden. He barked furiously.
‘Never mind, him. He does that all the time,’ said Mrs. Fitzgerald. Mr. Fitzgerald looked uncomfortable.
‘Mind if we see the backyard?’ asked Miller.
‘I don’t mind,’ replied Mr. Fitzgerald as he began to sweat.
The three of them walked through the backdoor into the yard.
‘Nice garden you have,’ said Kelby.
‘Thank you. I like to putter around in it when I have time. I plant tomatoes, flowers…Gizmo, stop digging! Bad boy.’
Kelby bent down to see what he was digging at and beneath the flowers, he saw a small wooden box. He reached into his pocket and got out some rubber gloves and put them on. He picked up the box. Kelby opened the lid and saw a white powder within three Ziplock bags.
Miller pulled out the cuffs and read Fitzgerald his rights. After he was finished, Miller asked if he wanted to make a statement.
‘Yeah,’ replied Mr. Fitzgerald.
‘And that is?’ said Miller.
‘I hate that dog.’
End of Part 2
About the author
Maxine has been disabled for the past ten years spending time writing books and short stories. She has been published several times in the Los Angeles Daily News, LiteraryCocktailMagazine, Nail Polish Stories, DarkWinterLit, BrightFlashLiteraryReview, OtherwiseEngagedLit, CafeLit, Maudlin House, and TheMetaworker.com.
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